The Seattle Seahawks had stomached consecutive road losses and were now at 4-4, and while half of the season remained, taking a .500 football team to the playoffs left little room for error. Additionally, the San Francisco 49ers were 6-2 and pulling away with the division. If any culprit might explain the four losses, it was an ability to finish drives. The offense had only twice scored over twenty points, and the skill position players were disappearing in the red…

Eight weeks into the season, the Seattle Seahawks were displaying a pattern. The up-and-down nature of the team’s play appeared to be closely linked to home field advantage. At Century Link, the Hawks were undefeated, including victories against the Green Bay Packers, a Super Bowl victor two seasons prior, and the New England Patriots, a Super Bowl loser the season prior. At home, rookie quarterback Russell Wilson had six touchdowns to zero interceptions. On the road, it was two touchdowns…

The Seattle Seahawks had little time to enjoy an electric last-second victory over the New England Patriots at Centurylink Field, as the next contest put them on the road, against divisional rival the San Francisco 49ers for Thursday Night Football. Thursday night games were somewhat infamous in the NFL. Many players and fans pointed out, as brutal a sport as football was, an athlete having only four days of rest often led to a subpar product. Regardless, the team had…

After two rebuilding seasons under coach Pete Carroll, the Seattle Seahawks had put together a team that was turning heads and changing minds. And it had become clear what was driving the turnaround, the 2012 draft class. Going into the draft, the consensus was the team needed a pass rusher, a linebacker, a quarterback and a running back. Six weeks into the season, it appeared general manager John Schneider had hit a grand slam. First-round draft pick Bruce Irvin was…

The Carolina Panthers season had gone the opposite of Seattle’s. Accompanying their sole win was a trio of losses to the New York Giants, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Atlanta Falcons—three teams whose defenses finished 2012 at the bottom of the rankings. To blame was a dysfunctional offense. Quarterback Cam Newton had his hands full, and as his moniker suggested, he was indeed “Superman” for the unit. His statistics were lukewarm, with seven total touchdowns to five interceptions, but…

Russell Wilson is gaining new responsibilities left and right. On Friday night, the Seahawks drafted center Ethan Pocic and wide receiver Amara Darboh, and his wife, singer and entertainer, Ciara, gave birth to a baby girl, Sienna Princess Wilson. The couple announced the birth on Twitter. Sienna is the first child for Wilson and Ciara as a couple. Dear Sienna Princess Wilson, No matter how big the wave, we will always be your calm in the storm. Love, Daddy &…

The Seahawks were 3-1 and clicking after a last-second Hail Mary victory over the Green Bay Packers. Meanwhile, their division rival, the St Louis Rams, were attempting to find a new identity. After a short period as the “Greatest Show On Turf,” the Rams had faded to mediocrity. Since 2002, the team had had no winning seasons, with two seasons being 8-8. A culture change was in order, and the Rams believed they had found the man to do it,…

Russ’s Rookie Year, A Re-Look At The Season The Seahawks Gained A Super Star Monday Night Football in the Pacific Northwest was usually a welcome proposition, with the Seattle Seahawks owning the all-time highest winning percentage of any team in the National Football League, at 73%. With the Seahawks coming off a monster win against the Dallas Cowboys, this overlooked squad had an opportunity to show America that winning football was back in the Pacific Northwest. Before the Hawks was…

The Wisconsin Badgers visited Ann Arbor and brought with them one of the craziest defenses in college football. One so complex and purposely odd that labeling it was dually confusing, as the label neither described what the Badgers were doing, and by giving the Badgers that label, it drew into question the label itself. Technically, the Badgers played a 3-4 defense, but watching Wisconsin on Saturday felt jarring. With so many players cutting, shifting, or dropping into coverage, it took…

Russ’s Rookie Year, A Re-Look At The Season The Seahawks Gained A Super Star Fans scrambled to explain the discouraging, last-second loss against the Arizona Cardinals, and the general consensus about the troubles was poor offensive line play, led by rookie right-guard JR Sweezy, and the questionable play-calling of offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. The Cardinals were frequently gap-stuffing at the line of scrimmage with attacking linebackers, yet Bevell continued to call plays that put running back Marshawn Lynch on a…